Household Chemicals to Kill Ticks

Tom Don

Ticks are small sesame seed-sized arachnids that feed on the blood of their host. These are blood-sucking parasites that stay on the host's body until they are full of blood and fall off by themselves. However, by the time they leave the host, they can cause a serious infection or lay eggs under the host's skin so that more ticks are born to suck blood. If you find ticks on your body, your pet's body, in your home or in the yard, you should resolutely deal with them before the situation becomes worse. There are some household chemicals which may be used to effectively kill ticks in the house or on your or your pet's body.

The deer tick, found in many areas of the United States with a particular concentration in the northeast, carries Lyme disease.

Acaricides

Apply acaricides to the lawn and woodland edges to help kill ticks inside and around the house. In Connecticut, chemicals registered for killing ticks include bifenthrin, carbaryl, chlorpyrifos, cyfluthrin, deltramethrin, diazinon, s-fenvalerate, fluvalinate, lambda-cyhalothrin and permethrin. These chemicals are available in the form of sprays, granules or applications and you can choose one as per your requirements and preferences.

Rubbing Alcohol

Rubbing alcohol effectively kills ticks in and around the house or on your or your pet's body. When the tick is biting, its head is buried inside the skin and if you drag it out suddenly with a jerk, you run the risk of separating the head from the body which can lead to further infections. Therefore, if you notice a tick, use a pair of tweezers to pinch it out and drop it in a bowl filled with rubbing alcohol. You can also take a cotton ball dipped in rubbing alcohol and apply it on the tick directly. The tick will die within a few seconds.

Steam Cleaning

If you have found ticks in the home, steam cleaning the areas may be helpful. The best thing about this method is that no harsh chemicals are used in the treatment. The key areas that need to be steam cleaned include baseboards, meeting points between walls and floors, cracks and crevices and furniture pieces in the house. Give particular attention to pet areas, including its bedding.

Fogging

Fogging is another method for killing ticks. The method includes creating a mist or fog by burning insecticides that have the appropriate chemicals. This method is much cleaner and safer to be used inside and outside your house and is extremely efficient in killing unwanted ticks, mosquitoes, flies and other pests.